Samuel Charles Ammons, Jr. was born July 29, 1925, in Wallis, Texas he was the second son of Samuel and Roberta "Birdie" Ammons. He was the youngest child and was spoiled by his siblings and parents. He attended school in Wallis and played all sports except football because his mother would not allow it. He later moved to Houston to live with one of his sisters where he attended Phyllis Wheatley High School for one year and played football. When his mother found out he was playing football, she sent him a letter requesting that he return home, which he did. He graduated from high school in Wallis in 1943 and moved to Houston briefly.
He left Houston for Chicago where he worked in a steel mill until he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1944. After the Army, he lived in Chicago from 1946 to 1948 after which he returned to Houston and worked for Trans-Texas Airways. In 1951, he opened his first service station in Third Ward and later built two more - one in Sunnyside and one in Acres Homes. He closed all his stations in 1978 due to the gas wars. In 1958, he opened a diner on the corner of Tierwester and Holman Street. In 1961 he got into the nightclub business by re-opening Club Ebony, His nieces and nephews either worked at the service station, the diner, or the nightclub.
He closed Club Ebony In 1963 when he said the Lord told him he needed to get out of the nightclub business. He went to Mt. Moriah Baptist Church where he taught Sunday School and did Missionary work from 1963 to 1966. His call to the ministry came in 1966. He attended Gulf Coast Bible School and Southwest Pentecostal School. In 1969, he borrowed money from Almeda Bank to open his own church in December of that year. The church was across the street from his old diner on the corner of Holman and Tierwester. His nephew, Ronnie Branch was his first Sunday School superintendent.
Sam taught more than 40 ministers and formed the organization, "Athletes for Christ', with Texas Southern University football players. In 2000, he moved his church into a new facility located at 12200 Fondren Street in Southwest Houston.